page_title: Kronshtadt-class battlecruiser
section_title: Ships
hierarchical_section_title: Kronshtadt-class battlecruiser / Construction / Ships
caption_attribution_description: English: Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the battlecruiser Kronstadt under construction in the Marti Shipyard
context_page_description: The Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers, with the Soviet designation as Project 69 heavy cruisers, were ordered for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s. Two ships were started but none were completed due to World War II. These ships had a complex and prolonged design process which was hampered by constantly changing requirements and the Great Purge in 1937.
  They were laid down in 1939, with an estimated completion date in 1944, but Stalin's naval construction program was more ambitious than the shipbuilding and armaments industries could handle. Prototypes of the armament and machinery had not even been completed by 22 June 1941, almost two years after the start of construction. This is why the Soviets bought twelve surplus 38-centimeter SK C/34 guns, and their twin turrets, similar to those used in the Bismarck-class battleships, from Germany in 1940. The ships were partially redesigned to accommodate them, after construction had already begun, but no turrets were actually delivered before Germany invaded the following year.
  Only Kronshtadt's hull survived the war reasonably intact being 10% complete in 1945, although she was considered to be obsolete.
context_section_description: The ships were originally intended to be laid down 1 September 1939, but they were delayed until November to allow improvements to the shipyards to be completed. A total of sixteen ships were planned in the August 1939 building program, but this was scaled back to four in July 1940 and two in October 1940 when it became clear just how unprepared the Soviets were for any large-scale naval construction program. Work on these ships ceased shortly after the German invasion.
  Kronshtadt (Russian: Кронштадт) was built by the Shipyard No. 194, Marti in Leningrad. She was laid down 30 November 1939 and judged 10.6% complete when the Germans invaded. Her building slip was too short for her entire length so her stern was built separately. Some of her material was used during the Siege of Leningrad to repair other ships and in defensive works, but she could have been finished after the end of the war. Proposals were made to complete her as an aircraft carrier and as a base ship for a whaling flotilla, but both ideas were rejected and she was ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947. Her dismantling began shortly afterwards and was completed the following year.
  Sevastopol (Russian: Севастополь) was built by Shipyard No. 200, 61 Communards in Nikolayev. She was laid down on 5 November 1939 and estimated as 11.6% complete on 22 June 1941. She was captured by the Germans when they occupied Nikolayev in late 1941, but the Germans did little with her other than to use some of her material for defensive positions and some was apparently shipped to Germany. Before the Germans evacuated the city they damaged her building slip and hull with explosives and made her a constructive total loss. She was ordered scrapped on 24 March 1947 and her dismantling began shortly afterwards. It was completed in 1948.
caption: Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of Kronstadt under construction, 1 June 1942
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